Two arrested in connection with migrant deaths at sea

Italian police have arrested two people in connection with a human-smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of at least 17 migrants, including two children, when their boat sank on Monday off the Libyan coast.

The pair could face charges of murder, with about 200 other people feared dead following the disaster. It was the second wreck in as many days, with a boat having sunk on Sunday leaving as many as 40 people dead.

According to the indictment the two individuals blocked the engines on the boat, carrying about 400 people, in order to trigger an Italian rescue. The Mare Nostrum program has seen Italian authorities increase search and rescue missions along its sea borders